Take them down from within
by Skovko
Summary: The Shield is taking a beatdown from seven men. Roman's girlfriend runs in to help but she ends up being knocked out by Randy. She wakes up in the hospital without her memory. The Authority moves in fast, filling her with lies about being on their side and dating Randy.
1. Head trauma

The Shield had been completely blindsided. The fight between them and the Wyatt Family had been cruel and they hadn't seen Hunter, Randy, Kane and Batista come rushing towards the ring before it was too late. They should have known something was up when Stephanie had been on commentary the entire match.

"Get them, boys!" She shouted from behind the desk.

Seven man beat down the trio in black. They didn't stand a chance. Seth and Dean were both handcuffed to a ringpost each while Roman took a more severe beating. Down the ramp another person dressed in black came running. Her black hair hang loose in the air and her sterling grey eyes were a mixture of anger and worry.

"No, Victoria!" Roman tried.

Another boot to his face shut him up as she slid under the rope and grabbed the leg of Randy that had just been connected with her man's face. She sank her teeth into his bare calf which made him howl in pain. He grabbed her hair and pulled her up with force.

"You wanna play, little girl?" He growled.  
"Fuck you!" She shouted.

She spat him in the face and his cold eyes turned into pure ice. Behind him the sound of someone pulling the top of the stairs off and throwing it away before going for the bigger piece underneath had him smirking cruelly.

"Oh yeah, we're so gonna play," he said.

She balled her fist and planted it into his stomach twice before he retaliated with an elbow to her temple that dazed her. Batista got the steel steps into the middle of the ring while Hunter and Kane yanked Roman up to his knees. Randy planted another elbow to Victoria's face to keep her stunned while moving both of them up on the steps.

"Are you watching this, boy?" He shouted at Roman.  
"No! Don't you fucking dare!" Roman shouted.  
"You motherfucker!" Dean screamed.

He was yanking like crazy on his handcuffs just like Seth was from the opposite corner. None of them could get free to help their friends. Randy smirked at Roman before moving his body up in the air to RKO Victoria directly down on the hard steel. Her head bounced off weirdly and her body rolled on its own down in the ring. Her eyes were closed and she was clearly not present in her own mind and body anymore. Blood was running from her forehead, colouring her light skin red.

"You son of a bitch! I'll fucking kill you!" Roman shouted.  
"Bring it on, big dog," Randy mocked.

He calmly walked over to Roman and planted another boot to his face. Roman saw stars as he fell down. He felt the ring shift and knew every enemy was leaving. He shook his head to see clearly again and crawled towards Victoria.

"Victoria? Pumpkin?" He pulled her up in his arms. "Wake up, pumpkin."

Men in black with a stretcher rushed in to take over.

"We gotta take her, Roman. She's safe with us," someone said.

He nodded and let go although he didn't want to. At least she was breathing. That was all that mattered in that moment. He looked around and saw JBL pick up a set of keys left on the commentator table. He walked over to the ring and handed them to Roman. Of course Stephanie had left the keys to mock them extra. He quickly freed his brothers and they all made it away from all the watching eyes.

"I'm telling you, now is your chance," a doctor backstage told Stephanie and the others. "I've already sent her to the hospital. She doesn't need stitches but the way her head landed, I won't be surprised if there's some sort of head trauma. And if there's not, this is still your chance to convince her otherwise. She'll be confused when she wakes up. Use it."

The Shield had been running around the arena, trying to find someone that could tell them where Victoria was. Someone knew for sure and kept them away from the information on purpose. It wasn't until Roman grabbed a poor intern, lifted him off the ground and held him up against the wall that they finally got word.

"They took her to the hospital," the poor kid cried. "Please, sir, it wasn't me."  
"Roman," Seth placed a hand on Roman's arm.

Roman let go of the kid and he fell down a crying mess. The right thing would be to apologize but he was in a hurry. He had to find his girlfriend and make sure she was okay. He had been so close when she took that RKO and it looked anything but good the way her head had hit the steel.

"She's waking up," Stephanie stroked Victoria's cheek. "How are you doing, sweetheart?"  
"What's going on?" Victoria asked.  
"You had a nasty accident. Do you remember what happened?" Stephanie asked.

Victoria looked from Stephanie to Hunter and Randy and then back to the brunette.

"I don't remember anything. Who are you?" She asked.  
"You don't remember us?" Stephanie asked surprised.  
"No," Victoria looked scared.  
"Aw, sweetheart, don't worry. We won't harm you. We're practically family," Stephanie said.  
"We are?" Victoria asked.  
"Randy there is your boyfriend," Stephanie pointed at Randy. "And you both live with us."  
"Hi honey," Randy said.  
"I... Ehm... I'm sorry. I don't remember any of you," Victoria said.  
"That's okay. We'll take you home and fill you in on everything. You'll get your memory back in no time," Stephanie said.

Roman stormed through the hospital with Seth and Dean right behind him. He had scared the poor woman behind the counter but he had gotten Victoria's room number nonetheless. He stormed into her room and stopped dead in his tracks by the sight of the three people standing there.

"What the fuck is going on here?" He roared.  
"Easy, Roman," Hunter said. "Think about where you are. Think about the other patients here. Don't start anything."  
"Get the fuck out!" Roman roared.  
"Ssh, you're scaring her," Stephanie scolded. "It's alright, sweetheart. These cavemen won't hurt you."  
"Get the fuck away from her!" Roman ran over the the bed. "I'm here, pumpkin. I won't let them hurt you."  
"Who... Who are you?" Victoria stuttered.  
"You don't remember me?" Roman asked shocked.

A doctor stepped into the room and looked around at the heated situation.

"What are you all doing in here? You can't put this kind of pressure on a patient with head trauma. Only one at a time in here and only for a few minutes," he said.  
"I'll stay," Roman quickly said.  
"It's alright," Stephanie smirked. "Give him a few minutes."

Everyone but Roman stepped out of the room. Seth and Dean went to the right while Stephanie, Hunter and Randy went to the left. They stood in opposite ends of a long hallway, able to see each other but not hear each other.

"Call Batista and hear how far he is," Stephanie said.

Hunter pulled out his phone and dialed Batista's number.

"It's Hunter," he said. "I just wanna hear how far along you are."  
"I got five pictures done and they're pretty damn good if I must say so myself," Batista said.  
"Good. Send them to Randy right away so he can show her what a happy couple they are," Hunter said and hung up.

Just a few seconds later Randy's phone beeped and five photoshopped pictures of him and Victoria came through.

"Fuck, he's good," Randy chuckled.  
"When Roman comes out, you go in there and show her how much in love you two are," Hunter tapped Randy's cheek.

The door to her room opened and Roman came out. He closed it behind him and stood still as his brothers and his enemies moved in from either side. They all stopped and he turned his head to look at his enemies.

"I'm gonna get you for this. That's a promise and you can fucking believe that," he said.  
"Roman, is she alright?" Seth asked.  
"No, she doesn't remember anything. They wanna keep her over night so I can't get her home until tomorrow," Roman answered.  
"Okay, let's go home and rest. You need it," Seth said.

The trio walked away while the other three stayed.

"She's not gonna be here tomorrow," Stephanie chuckled. "We're taking her home right now."  
"Go in there and show her the pictures and sweet talk her while Stephanie and I find someone willing to sign her over to us," Hunter said.

An hour later she walked into Stephanie and Hunter's house.

"You must be tired. Randy, show her to your room," Stephanie said.

Randy smirked at Stephanie before escorting Victoria to his room. She looked around as if she tried to recognize something.

"I don't... I'm sorry..." She said.  
"It's okay, honey. Your clothes is in here," he said.

He opened a closet and silently thanked Stephanie for thinking fast on her feet. Kane and Batista had emptied half of Stephanie's wardrobe and placed it in there to make it look like Victoria lived there. She looked through the clothes and pulled out a pair of pyjamas pants and a tee.

"Bathroom?" She pointed at a door in the room.  
"Yeah, our bathroom," he said. "But you can change in front of me. I've seen it all before."  
"I... I..." She stuttered.  
"Just go in there," he sighed.

She wasn't gonna make it easy for him. Stephanie's plan had sounded so easy that he had thought he could just get her naked right away. Instead she walked to the bathroom and locked the door. He waited 15 minutes, listening to the toilet flush and her going through cabinets to figure out where everything was. She finally came out in the pyjamas and tee. He had stripped down to his boxers and laid on top of the duvet waiting for her.

"Come here, honey," he patted the spot next to him.

She nervously walked over and crawled under the duvet on the empty side. He lifted it up to join her. His arm yanked her close and she could feel his erection against her thigh. His lips sought hers but she pushed herself away from him.

"What?" He asked annoyed.  
"I'm sorry, Randy, I just need time. I don't remember you," she said.  
"I'm your boyfriend!" He raised his voice.  
"You feel like a stranger," she said scared. "I'm sorry. Please, I don't wanna upset you."  
"Fine, fine," he moved away from her. "Get some sleep. I'm gonna go watch tv downstairs."

He walked downstairs where he met up with Stephanie, Hunter, Kane and Batista.

"What's with that look on your face?" Hunter asked.  
"She won't let me touch her," Randy answered annoyed.  
"Of course not," Stephanie rolled her eyes. "What did you expect?"  
"You made it sound so god damn easy," he said.  
"It is easy. She's here in your fucking bed, Randy. You just gotta give her time for her brain to start believing it all and she'll be in your arms in no time," she said.  
"Fine, I'll give her a week," he crossed his arms.  
"Try a month or maybe even longer," she crossed her arms too. "You can't rush this, Randy. If you do, she's never gonna turn to us. We got her here now. Don't mess it up. Put your true self aside and pretend to be a loving boyfriend missing his girlfriend. She'll fall for you in no time."

He nodded at her little speech. He knew she was right. He shouldn't try and rush it but it was just so damn hard when he had desired her for so long and finally had her in his bed.

"I get it," he said.  
"Good," she said. "This is gonna be fantastic. We're gonna take down The Shield from within."  
"You know they're gonna come for us, right?" Kane asked.  
"Time after time after time," she smirked. "And they're gonna fail just as many times. Roman will crack first when we have her and without their angry Samoan powerhouse, we're left with a lunatic that acts without thinking and little Seth that can't do shit on his own."


	2. Collage

To say that Randy was frustrated was an understatement. It had been three days and he still wasn't allowed to touch her at all. Whenever he tried to hug her or just laid his hand on her shoulder, she would flinch and move away as if she got burned by fire.

If things couldn't get any worse, he and Kane had taken a beatdown by The Shield that evening. They had been in tag team action and won, only to be jumped from behind by the trio. The three men had gotten some good punches and kicks in before Hunter and Batista had made it down there to protect them. The Shield had fled immediately by the sight of the other two men.

"Fucking cowards!" He growled lowly. "You need to be put to sleep, you ugly mongrels. Just roll over and die."

He angrily walked into the house but was stopped by Stephanie. She put a finger to her lips and motioned for him to follow. Shortly after he found himself in the open doorway to the living room. There completely caught up in her own world, Victoria was making a collage. He looked at the photos and realized they were all photoshopped pictures of him and her together.

"She's trying to remember," Stephanie whispered.

They all knew she would never truly remember since there was nothing to remember but her mind could be tricked into believing and apparently she was trying to go along with the ride. Stephanie nodded towards her and Randy walked into the room.

"Hi honey," he said. "What are you doing?"  
"I'm trying, Randy. I'm really trying," she said.  
"I know and you're doing so good. This looks good. When you're done with it, we should hang it in our room," he said.  
"You think so?" She asked.

There was a hint of a smile on her face. The first smile he had seen since she had arrived to the house. Stephanie was right. It was gonna be easy despite taking a bit of time. Victoria wanted to believe all the lies. She wanted it all to be true.

"I wouldn't lie to you," he said.

He took a chance and reached a hand up to lightly grab her chin and stroke his thumb over it. She flinched as always but she didn't step away from his touch. He quickly removed his hand again. This was progress and he knew he shouldn't step over the line or it would all fall down again.

"Randy's right," Stephanie walked up to them. "It looks really good."  
"I still don't remember though," Victoria said.  
"It'll come to you," Stephanie said.  
"I hope so," Victoria said. "Do you want a cup of tea? I was gonna make myself one."  
"Green tea, please," Stephanie said.  
"I know. How you can drink that stuff is beyond me," Victoria said. "Randy?"  
"I'll have a beer, thank you," he said.

Victoria walked out in the kitchen while Stephanie and Randy moved over to the couch and waited for her. Around ten minutes later she came back with two cups of tea and a beer.

"There you go," she said.  
"Thank you," Stephanie said.  
"Have you talked to the doctors?" Victoria asked.  
"About what?" Stephanie asked.  
"About me getting cleared and going back to the ring," Victoria answered.  
"Oh sweetheart," Stephanie said.

She took Victoria's hand and gave it a little squeeze.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible. You suffered a head trauma and you can't go back into the ring. The best thing for you would be staying back home where you're safe," she said.  
"But I'm on a contract," Victoria said.  
"And I'm your boss," Stephanie smiled. "I can put my signature on your release any day. I can do it right now. I should do it right now."  
"No, wait," Victoria begged. "Please. Just keep me there a little while to see how my head heals and let me get used to the thought of not fighting anymore. I'm not gonna go anywhere. I just can't follow."

She pointed to her temple to make her point clear.

"Of course, sweetheart. Whenever you're ready," Stephanie said.

She turned her head and winked at Randy.

"I know it's hard, honey, but Stephanie's right. We gotta do what's best for you and I can't have you hurt your head even more," he said. "It's better if you stay home."  
"Don't worry, I'm not planning on going anywhere," Victoria said. "I feel safe here."  
"You are safe here," Stephanie took a sip of her tea. "You make the perfect blend. I might have to start paying you for being my private maid."  
"Well, I am looking for a new job soon from what I hear," Victoria joked.

They sat back and relaxed while drinking their tea and beer. Afterwards Victoria cleaned up and excused herself to go to bed.

"We got her," Stephanie smirked.  
"We fucking got her, Stephanie," Randy agreed.  
"You're doing so good," she reached a hand up to touch his cheek. "Just you wait. You'll be sexing her up in no time."  
"I can't wait," he said.


	3. Bed rest

Not much changed the next four days other than Stephanie starting to feel a bit lightheaded and sick. A doctor was called in and he told her it was stress from running the company and put her on bed rest for at least a week. Something the billion dollar princess wasn't too happy about.

"I'll take care of you," Victoria said.  
"You really are a sweetheart," Stephanie said.  
"I owe you so much. I know it's only been a week but I still don't remember anything and still you're putting up with my sorry ass. I'm not sure I would have the same patience if I was in your shoes," Victoria said.

Stephanie grabbed Victoria's hand and pulled her down to sit on the bed.

"Is this about Randy?" She asked.  
"I still don't remember, Stephanie," Victoria's eyes filled with tears. "Although he tries to hide it, I know how upset he gets when I don't wanna kiss him or touch him. He still feels like a stranger to me. I don't know what to do."  
"Give it time, sweetheart. Randy can be a hard headed dinosaur at times but he loves you and he's waiting for you whenever you're ready," Stephanie said.  
"Thank you. You always know what to say," Victoria said.  
"No, thank you for trusting me," Stephanie smiled. "How about a cup of tea?"  
"Of course," Victoria smiled back.

Bed rest didn't have the desired effect on Stephanie. Once her body finally got to relax, it seemed like everything just got worse. A week later she was coughing and running a fever.

"It's the flu," the doctor said. "Keep her in bed for another week and get some soup and a lot of water in her."

None of the men living in the house asked Victoria to continue playing nurse for Stephanie. She just did it voluntarily while the men continued going to the arena. The war between them and The Shield never died down and Victoria would watch it from home on the television screen without anyone's knowledge. They had kept her away from the wrestling world entirely but with Stephanie as sick as she was, she didn't notice Victoria watching. She was in bed constantly and Victoria had to feed her and hold her head up when giving her something to drink. It went on like that for half a week.

"Hunter!" Roman roared.

Victoria looked at the television to see the three angry men in the ring. Roman was pacing in front of Seth and Dean. She had heard Hunter, Randy, Kane and Batista whisper about them still not backing down or falling apart but they never talked openly about it in front of her.

"We got some unfinished business!" He continued.

The four men walked out on the ramp and looked down at the three men in the ring.

"What's it gonna take for you three to go away?" Hunter asked. "Do I have to fire you?"  
"Fire us all you want! We'll kick down every door to get to you! You're not safe anywhere!" Dean shouted.  
"You know what I want!" Roman's voice thundered through the air. "Where is she?"  
"Back home where she belongs," Randy smirked. "In my house, in my bed, and in my fucking arms, Roman."  
"You son of a bitch! I'll fucking rip you apart!" Roman shouted.

It took Seth and Dean a lot of strength to hold back Roman. They couldn't have him running up the ramp and getting himself hurt.

"One final match," Hunter said. "If you lose, all three of you are gone for good."  
"And if we win?" Seth asked.  
"No, if Roman wins," Hunter corrected him with a twisted smile. "I guess you still work here but that's about it."  
"You're so fucking on and when you're lying dead in the ring, I'll storm your house and take care of your wife!" Roman shouted.  
"Oh, you're not facing me. You're facing Randy and Kane in a handicap match," Hunter said.  
"You can't do that shit!" Dean shouted.  
"I can," Hunter laughed. "And you two are gonna be hanging above the ring in a shark cage meanwhile so you won't interfere in any way."

Dean and Seth started pacing too while looking at Roman. They knew in the end it would be his call.

"You're on," Roman said. "When?"  
"Tomorrow," Hunter said.

Victoria turned the television off and went back to her room. There was something she had to do. She picked up the papers she had been holding on to for a couple of days without anyone knowing. Now was the right time.

"Stephanie?" She walked into Stephanie and Hunter's bedroom. "Are you awake?"  
"Yes, what is it?" Stephanie asked.  
"I know you're sick but I'm ready now. Will you sign the papers for my release?" Victoria asked.  
"Of course, sweetheart," Stephanie answered.

Victoria helped Stephanie up to sit and handed her a pen. Stephanie could hardly open her eyes so Victoria moved Stephanie's hand to the right places on the papers so she could sign. Afterwards she helped Stephanie to lay down again.

"Thank you," she said. "Now get some rest. Hunter will be home soon."

Around two hours later the men made it back home. Hunter and Randy walked in to check up on Stephanie.

"She asked me to release her," Stephanie said.  
"Finally," Hunter said and looked at Randy. "She's all yours now."  
"She's still not giving it up," Randy said.  
"She asked for her release, Randy. I'm willing to bet she's gonna spread her legs before the end of the month," Hunter chuckled. "Now go to her."

Randy walked to his room and found Victoria already asleep in the bed. He stared at the black haired beauty and felt so lucky that she was in his bed. He quietly undressed and laid down behind her. He ran a finger up her exposed arm on top of the duvet until the fabric from her tee stopped him up by her shoulder.

"Soon, Victoria," he muttered darkly. "Soon you'll be mine for good."


	4. Raise the cage

There wasn't much life in Stephanie next day. Victoria tried all day to make her drink something but the brunette just slept through it all.

"Hunter," Victoria approached him nervously. "I don't know what to do. I think you need to call someone or take her to the hospital."  
"I don't have time to take her anywhere. We have a big match and we need to leave," he said.  
"So call a doctor," she said.  
"I will," he said.

She watched as he took out his phone and called the same doctor that had already been there twice and so far had misjudged the situation as stress and the flu. He showed up half an hour later just as the men were about to leave.

"If it's anything serious, you call me right away," Hunter said.  
"Of course," the doctor promised.

The four men left the house and soon after Victoria and the doctor could hear the car start up and speed away.

"She's in the bedroom," she said. "I'll just make myself invisible while you work."

The doctor nodded and went in to check up on Stephanie. It was clear she needed a hospital and he went out of the room again.

"Victoria?" He called.

There was no answer and the house was too big to start searching, especially when every second mattered. Instead he called an ambulance himself to get Stephanie to the hospital quick. She needed water in her system and they had to do some tests fast to figure out what was wrong.

 _Sierra hotel india echo lima delta... Shield!_

The three men made it down the stairs and into the ring where the shark cage was waiting. It was gonna be cramped to stand two big men in there but there would be enough room.

"We got this," Roman muttered.

Hunter's music hit and down the ramp came all four men. It wasn't fair to Roman that Batista and Hunter would be allowed to roam freely around the ring but they had no saying in the matter. They made it into the ring and stared down the three Shield members.

"Are you ready for this, boy?" Randy taunted.  
"I'm more than ready," Roman said.

Down the ramp a stage crew came sprinting with a phone in his hand.

"Hunter! Hunter!" He shouted.  
"Not now!" Hunter growled.  
"It's important. It's from the hospital. It's about Stephanie," the stage crew held up the phone.

Hunter rolled out of the ring to take the call. His three buddies kept his eyes on him, forgetting about the three enemies still in the ring.

"What do you mean she's been poisoned?" Hunter shouted.

He turned around to shouting in the ring just to see Randy inside the shark cage and the door being locked. He quickly jumped in to stand next to Kane and Batista again. Three versus three. They could still come out victorious. That thought was quickly put down as the choros of Chase Atlantic's song "Okay" started playing.

"I don't believe it!" Corey said in his headset. "Everyone's favourite dirty habit is back!"

They all stared up the ramp as Victoria came walking out with some papers in her hand and a wicked grin on her face.

"Guess who's back," she said.  
"You don't work here anymore!" Randy shouted.  
"I don't?" She asked.

She held up the papers in her hand and her grin grew even bigger.

"You're right, I don't work here anymore. I own this place. Stephanie signed it all over to me yesterday," she said.  
"You can't do that!" Hunter shouted.  
"But I did," she smirked. "So, boys, you're now working for me although you're so fucking fired from this moment on. Oh, and Roman! Hi grizzly bear!"

She waved at him with her free hand.

"Hi pumpkin!" He waved back.  
"I got someone here to see you," she said. "Jimmy! Jey!"

The twins came sprinting out with a pair of handcuffs each and were down in the ring in no time. Hunter, Batista and Kane tried fighting back but soon Batista and Kane were handcuffed to a ringpost each just like Seth and Dean had been on the day that had started it all. Hunter spun around confused just to be met by a bone crushing spear that sent him straight down in the ring.

"Hunter!" Randy yanked at the bars of the shark cage.

While the fight had been going on, she had made it down to the ring. Roman reached a hand down to her and helped her up into the ring. Seth and Dean yanked Hunter up on his knees and forced him to look at her.

"When I woke up in the hospital with you three in the room pretending like you fucking cared, I knew I had to do something. It wasn't planned but in that moment all alone with you three, I was scared you might kill me so I pretended not to remember anything. That quickly turned out to be a blessing since you jumped on it right away," she said.  
"The few minutes I spent in the hospital room with her was enough. She quickly went over the plan and we took it from there. You thought you were gonna take us down from within when in reality it was the other way around," Roman said.  
"You fucking whore!" Randy shouted. "She was in my bed, Roman! My bed!"  
"And all she did was sleep," Roman grinned. "You can't make me believe she would ever touch you. My girl has standards and you fall way below them."  
"Stephanie!" Hunter whimpered.  
"She'll be fine. I only poisoned her a little," Victoria said. "She's the only one drinking that nasty green tea so that was easy enough and then the doctor ordered soup so that made it even more easy. But you, Hunter. You still need to take your punishment."

A superkick to his face made him see stars. Seth and Dean still held him up so she could plant two more superkicks and knock him out cold.

"Security! Escort Hunter, Batista and Kane out of my building," she said.  
"Hey! What about me?" Randy shouted.  
"Raise the cage!" She ordered.

The cage started going up and Randy started to panic.

"No, wait! You can't do this!" He shouted.  
"Relax, Randy. Someone will come in the morning and help you down. But you stay up there tonight and think about what you tried to make me do. Even if I had lost my memory, you could never have made me love you," she said.  
"That's for me alone," Roman yanked her close and kissed her. "Fuck, pumpkin, it's been some hard weeks without you."  
"I better make it up to you when we get home," she giggled.  
"Yeah, you better," he grinned. "Just like I'm gonna make sure every bad memory of sharing a bed with Randy is out of your head. I'm gonna take my sweet time to wash away every picture inside your head."  
"Wash away or lick away?" She stuck out her tongue.  
"It's the same," he promised in a husky tone. "Gonna have my girl sweating, panting and screaming."


End file.
